Russia announced a ban on all European meat imports from January 1 as a dispute with Poland engulfed the rest of the European Union yesterday.

The move by President Putin, which has cast a shadow over an EU-Russia summit in Finland today, came after Poland blocked trade talks between Brussels and Moscow.

Although the summit will still go ahead, the Poles insisted on their right to act over the Russian refusal to accept their meat.

In return, President Putin raised the stakes by saying that Russia also had concerns about Bulgarian and Romanian meat and would turn away all imports from the EU until these were addressed.

As both sides dug in, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the Polish Prime Minister, even refused a direct telephone appeal to back down from José Manuel Barroso, the President of the European Commission. Speaking to The Times, Mr Barroso said: “It is an over reaction. At the same time, I really believe that the best way to deal with the Russians is to speak with them and to engage with them.”

The argument means that, just as an informal dinner with Mr Putin broke down last month because of differences over Russian gas exports, the EU will once again be unable to present a united face to Russia at the formal summit today.

Mr Kaczynski rejected a compromise offered by the EU Finnish presidency yesterday on a statement demanding an urgent lifting of Moscow’s ban on imports of Polish meat.

After days of fruitless talks among EU ambassadors, Matti Vanhanen, the Finnish Prime Minister, admitted: “Every country, at times, has its own sensitivities. We have to understand them to a certain extent, and this time Poland had its own difficulties.”

Dmitri Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman, said: “The problem is on the European side. The ball is on their field. We are ready to wait in a very constructive manner. Meanwhile, we have lots of things to discuss.” Asked if Moscow was disappointed, he said: “We are not. We think Brussels should be disappointed as this was a perfect opportunity to initiate these negotiations. Most likely we will lose this opportunity.”

Anna Fotyga, the Polish Foreign Minister, speaking on a visit to Oslo, said that Poland was willing to risk its reputation in the EU over what she called a matter of sovereignty.

Vladimir Chizhov, the Russian Ambassador to the EU, suggested that domestic Polish politics were behind Warsaw’s brinkmanship. “I do not think the Poles will keep their veto for ever. It will probably be until the elections,” he said.

Poland holds the second round of municipal elections on Sunday. EU officials sought to play down the row, insisting that there were plenty of other issues on the summit agenda.

Sticking points

Meat Poland says cost of Russian meat blockade is €1 million a day and vetoes EU trade talks. Russia announces ban on EU meat

Energy Europe wants access to Russian gas but President Putin refuses to open the market

Human rights President Putin rejects reproof from Europe of large number of contract killings in Russia

Georgia EU has raised concerns over Russian treatment of pro-Western Georgian Government

Iran Russia may use Security Council veto to stop sanctions against Iran over nuclear issue

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